There will be a Community Betterment Committee blood drive on Tuesday, May 5, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Bad River Senior Citizens Center in Philip. To schedule an appointment, phone Enid Schulz at 859-2145, the UBS in Rapid City at 1-800-834-8525 or go online to www.unitedbloodservices.org.

Out of every 100 people needing blood, more than 50 percent will use type O.

Emergency managers and other agencies held a conference call on Monday, April 27, with the South Dakota Department of Health regarding the recent cases of swine flu.

Updated on Tuesday morning, the number of swine flu cases in the United States had reached 64.

"The possibility of the swine flu coming into the area has raised some concerns among Haakon County citizens," said Lola Roseth, Haakon County emergency manager. "As of Monday afternoon, there have been two suspected cases in South Dakota where people had become ill after recent trips to Mexico.

A HuntSafe course will be offered in Philip on May 9, 2009. The class will be held at the Philip Ambulance building.

The course will begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 5:00 p.m. MST. Lunch will be provided for all attendees. Preregistration is required and can be done by contacting the Philip Police Department at 859-2850 or Conservation Officer Kit Bramblee at 859-3006. Preregistration can also be done by stopping into the office of the Philip Police Department.

TransCanada applicant representatives ... The proposed Keystone XL pipeline project received a public information hearing in Philip on Monday, April 27. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission must deny, grant or grant with conditions the project application no later that March 12, 2010. Shown, from left: Brett Koenecke, PUC legal council for TransCanada, Robert Jones, TransCanada vice president, John Hayes, TransCanada construction project manager, and Jim White, TransCanada legal council. Behind are TransCanada subject matter experts.

The public hearing in the Philip High School gym on Monday, April 27, consisted of over a dozen TransCanada experts, almost that many South Dakota Public Utilities Commission personnel and around 300 audience members.

The PUC must render a decision by March 12, 2010, concerning an application to construct a 36-inch pipeline through nine counties in western South Dakota. The application can be approved, denied or approved with conditions.

Questions ... Roy Iverson, a rancher from Murdo, posed one of the many questions during the evening. The audience was very quiet while the responses were given.

The public hearing in the Philip High School gym on Monday, April 27, consisted of over a dozen TransCanada experts, almost that many South Dakota Public Utilities Commission personnel and around 300 audience members.

The PUC must render a decision by March 12, 2010, concerning an application to construct a 36-inch pipeline through nine counties in western South Dakota. The application can be approved, denied or approved with conditions.

Under new management ... As of May 1, Teresa and Dan Walker will be the new owners of Grandpa Dan’s Diner, formerly Tanya’s Drive Inn.

The restaurant at the intersection of Highways 73 an 14 will close on Thursday as Tanya's Drive Inn and open on Friday, May 1, as Grandpa Dan's Diner.

"We'll keep the same hours as when we previously owned the business," said once-again owner Dan Walker. "Opening at 6:00 a.m. and closing at 8:00 p.m. seven days a week, we'll start there and see how it goes, staying open longer as needed."

Walker and his wife, Theresa, previously operated the business from August 1993 to the middle of 1998. "Our life is not boring," said Theresa. "Dan is his own economic development project.